The Majlis Lamu
The Majlis hotel is a luxury beach hotel on Manda Island in Lamu, off Kenya’s northern coast. It has a superb beachfront site and views over the bay and Lamu island. It also offers the perfect setting and the ideal place for barefoot luxury and informal pampering on your trip to Kenya. The boutique hotel offers 25 exquisite deluxe rooms and suites. They are divided into three beachfront villas. The rooms are all presented in timelessly elegant Lamu Island style. They are very spacious, well appointed, and fully air-conditioned. The Majlis restaurant will not fail to impress with a panoramic view of the bay and the finest cuisine. Additional state-of-the-art facilities include two bars, two swimming pools, and an activity centre that co-ordinates a wide variety of water sport activities.
History
The Majlis is a private African home-away-from-home. It was never meant to be a resort. Initially, it was built as a family retreat from the pressures of the world. The story begins in 2000, when an Italian gentleman named Nanni and his wife Elena were on a global quest to find the perfect place to escape from the cold European winters. They realised that Africa held a special place in their hearts. Landing in Lamu, they watched the white-sailed dhows glide up the blue water of the Manda Channel; the patient trains of donkeys ferrying sand in baskets on their backs; the black-cloaked figures of the Swahili women; and the jade green domes of the island’s numerous mosques. They realized that on this remote and beautiful island, time almost stood still. They had found the ‘home’ they were looking for.
More history
Staying in the small village of Shela, Nanni gazed across the glittering reaches of the channel towards Ras Kitau Bay on Manda Island. Serene and beautiful, he was surprised to note that there were no houses on the pristine stretch of beach. Back in Italy, he found he couldn’t get the image of Manda out of his mind. Eventually, he decided to return, and bought a single plot of land. Embarking on his new challenge, he first built a small house; then, thinking that his three sons and their families would join them, he bought another plot of land and expanded their house into a villa.
Architecture
Built from local bleached-white coral blocks and delicately styled to reflect a fusion of Italian style and Swahili culture, the villa rose elegantly above the silver sands. Inside, Nanni and his interior designer Armando Tanzini filled the rooms with delicate Swahili niches, intricate fretwork, luscious rugs, hand-made furniture, and an eclectic collection of art, sculpture and carvings. Friends came from all over the world to stay. One of them, the artist and film director Julian Schnabel, provided the inspiration for certain architectural elements of the villa. Schnabel also used local dhow sails, faded by the wind and sun, to act as canvasses for his flamboyant paintings, which now hang on the pure white walls of the central drawing room alongside the work of a myriad of local artists, Swahili craftsmen, and internationally recognized artists.
Completion
In 2005, the villa was finally complete. A fabulous party was thrown to celebrate. Everyone marvelled over the purity and style of the cream-hued coral palace that stood on the sands of the Lamu archipelago. Two years later, two more villas were built for family friends, and then at the last minute, the family decided to combine the two villas and the main family villa to create a ’boutique hotel’ on Lamu island, thus providing an entirely new and unique accommodation option. The family decided to add an open-air restaurant with a rooftop bar equidistant between the various villas. The rooftop was constructed in a traditional Swahili style fanned by the cool breezes that wafted through its open sides and shaded by a soaring Makuti roof.
Naming
Debating what to call the emerging resort, Nanni remembered how a friend had remarked on the fact that the main villa had one reception room inside the house for the family and another eclectic Indian-styled pavilion on the beach for receiving honored guests. ”It’s called a Majlis,” said the friend. ‘The Arabic word refers to a beautiful place reserved especially for entertaining honored guests in the Muslim community’. ”Perfect,” said Nanni. ”Since Lamu used to be a Protectorate of Oman, we must honor the local community. We shall call it The Majlis.” Officially opened in October 2009, The Majlis welcomed its first guests that Christmas. Designed to offer an African ‘home-away-from-home’ for all who visit, The Majlis was built with love and finished in beauty. Not intended as a hotel, it still isn’t one, it’s simply a very special place in which our honoured guests can feel at home.
The Majlis Hotel located on the Lamu Island offers elegant and luxurious accommodation, in understated design complementing the natural beauty of Lamu and its tropical location. The beach hotel facing Lamu Island comprises 25 superbly appointed Superior and Deluxe rooms, Junior and Royal suites divided into 3 villas.
Villas
Each villa opens onto the white sand beach and boasts of a private veranda with panoramic sea views. Each villa was constructed making use of the archipelago’s natural resources, combining white coral blocks with hand-carved timber. Particular attention was paid to integrating the villas among the indigenous trees and plants, to enhance and to preserve the beauty of the local surroundings. Tastefully designed and decorated with tailored fittings, all rooms evoke the East African heritage with doors and furniture hand-carved according to the local Lamu tradition.
Suites
Suites boast of a large bedroom area with a king-size bed draped with highest-quality linen bedding and roll-down netting, a generous en-suite bathroom, a private veranda, electric fans, and a safe. Wireless internet access is available in each room, which is also fitted with air conditioning to guarantee a peaceful night. The en-suite bathrooms feature a hot and cold-water shower and a classic “baraza” seating area covered in cushions.
